The Body Switch
by Arglefumph
Summary: One of Maya's spiritual rituals is interrupted, and as a result, Phoenix and Maya switch bodies.
1. The Switch

Phoenix Wright and Pearl Fey sat next to each other on the cold, hard bench, waiting for Maya to appear.

"Has it been two hours yet?" Pearl asked.

Phoenix checked his watch. "Almost."

The two of them were in Fey Manor. It was the day of Maya's final exam—the last test she had to take before she officially became the Master of Kurain Village.

Phoenix was slightly disappointed that Maya decided to become Master of Kurain instead of staying on as his legal assistant—as crazy as she was, he'd become fond of having her around. However, it was her decision to make and he didn't hold any grudges, which is why he had come along with Pearl to show his support.

"This is so _boring_," Pearl complained.

"I know," Phoenix agreed.

Maya had forgotten to mention that nobody but her was allowed inside the Channeling Chamber where the test was taking place. Which meant that Phoenix and Pearl had nothing to do during the exam but sit around for two hours, waiting for her to finish.

The test had something to do with Maya summoning a spirit while still retaining her own individual consciousness. This would allow her "to create and instill a physical manifestation of the spirit", according to the instructions. Phoenix wasn't sure what that meant.

"Boring boring boring!" Pearl sang to herself.

Phoenix's watch beeped, as it did every hour, on the hour.

"It's been two hours," Phoenix announced. "Maya should be done now."

"Yay!" Pearl cheered. "Did she do it right?"

"I don't know yet," Phoenix said.

He opened the door to the Channeling Chamber and stepped in. "Maya?"

Inside the room was an incredibly strange sight. Maya was glowing purple, and in front of her was a mirror that was also glowing purple. As soon as Phoenix spoke, her eyes snapped open.

Phoenix shuddered—her pupils were completely blank. She opened her mouth, and two voices came out at the same time.

"Nick! No! I'm not done yet!"

"Phoenix! Don't interrupt—!"

_Was that Mia's voice?_ Phoenix wondered. In any case, it was obvious he was interrupting, so he had best leave...

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Two screams from one throat.

A flash of purple filled Phoenix's vision as he was thrown headfirst against the door.

* * *

><p>When Phoenix woke up, he was lying in bed.<p>

"Mystic Maya!" Pearl cried. "Are you okay?"

Phoenix tried sitting up, but his head hurt too much. "Did you just call me 'Maya'?" he asked.

"Oh no! She's not okay!" Pearl said.

"Just lie down, Maya" Mia advised. "Don't overexert yourself."

"Me, _Mia?_" Phoenix blurted out. He immediately winced after hearing himself speak. His voice sounded awful.

But unless Phoenix was wrong, which was definitely a possibility, Mia was standing there in front of him. Not Maya or Pearl channeling Mia. It was Mia herself, looking as if she had never died.

"She remembers you!" Pearl said happily. "Do you remember _me_, Mystic Maya?"

"Why do you keep calling me 'Maya'?" Phoenix asked. "I'm Phoenix, not Maya!"

Pearl gasped. "Mr. Nick?"

Mia paled. "This...isn't good."

"What's going on?" Phoenix demanded.

Pearl held up a small, handheld mirror. Phoenix recognized it as the mirror that was on the floor in front of Maya when...

Wait a minute.

That was _not_ his reflection in the mirror.

"AAAAAA!" Phoenix screamed. A very high-pitched scream.

Phoenix looked at his hands. They were not their normal size.

"I'm in Maya's body?" Phoenix screamed.

* * *

><p>"What happened? Where's my body?" Phoenix demanded.<p>

"There," Mia said, pointing.

It was him. Or rather, his body, asleep in the next bed. His nose scrunched up.

"Nick, stop screaming," Maya said, sleepily. "I'm trying to sleep."

She turned onto her side, her back facing him. Or rather, his back facing her, because...ah, this body-switching thing was getting confusing already.

"Mystic Maya's awake," Pearl said.

"I must be sleeping," Phoenix moaned. "A nightmare."

He ran his hands over his new body. If this _was_ a nightmare, it was a pretty realistic one.

He felt the back of his head. No spikes. Just...a top knot.

"Maya, wake up," Mia said. "It's me, Mia."

"Mia?" Maya asked. There was a few seconds of silence, then she bolted upright.

"Mia! The channeling! You—Phoenix—what happened?"

"Phoenix messed up the channeling," Mia said. "I didn't go in the mirror."

"Oh, Sis! I'm so sorry!" Maya apologized. "Now you're stuck! I thought I would be able to—!"

Mia shook her head. "Don't worry about it, Maya. There are more important things for you to worry about."

"What?" Maya asked.

Mia pointed at Phoenix.

"I...think we switched bodies somehow," Phoenix said.

"AAAAAAAAAA!' Maya screamed.

* * *

><p>It took a few hours before Phoenix was convinced that this was <em>not<em> just a crazy dream.

"This is a disaster!" Phoenix moaned. "I'm supposed to appear in court tomorrow!"

"It's kind of romantic," Pearl said. "Switching bodies with your special someone."

Phoenix spun around to face Pearl. "Maya is _not_ my—hey!"

Spinning around so quickly had caused Maya's long hair to swing around his head, and it got in his face.

"Maya, your hair is ridiculous!" Phoenix complained.

"Look who's talking, Mr. Porcupine," Maya said. She squirmed uncomfortably. "How do you wear this suit all the time? It's so tight!"

"At least my clothes fit!" Phoenix retorted. "These robes are so _weird!_ They're so loose that my...um..."

Phoenix grabbed his chest and adjusted himself.

"You keep your hands _off_ of those, you pervert!" Maya shouted.

Mia rolled her eyes. You'd think it'd be a big deal that Mia's summoning was botched and she was now existing in a weird half-ghost state, but nobody had even noticed her. Maya and Phoenix were too busy fighting to pay attention to anyone but themselves.

"They're acting like little children," Mia told Pearl.

Pearl was shocked by the scene. Watching Maya and Phoenix fight felt really wrong to her. "Should we...leave?" she asked tentatively.

"Sure," Mia said. "Let's see if there's anything to eat. Maybe when we're done, they'll be finished arguing."

* * *

><p>"So...you're Mystic Maya's sister?" Pearl asked. She hadn't seen Mia in about two years, and had forgotten some of the details about how she fit into the family.<p>

"Yes," Mia nodded. "That makes us cousins."

"How do you know Mr. Nick?" she asked.

Mia poked at an apple uselessly. It turned out that she couldn't eat anything in her new half-existence. "Hmm? Oh. I was his boss before I died."

"I think Mr. Nick is Mystic Maya's special someone," Pearl said confidentially.

Mia laughed.

"What's so funny?" Pearl asked.

"Maya and Phoenix?" Mia laughed. "Isn't she a little too..._immature_ for him?"

"No, she's not!" Pearl insisted. (Pearl wasn't sure what "immature" meant, but that didn't matter to her.) "They love each other, and they're going to get married! They just don't know it yet!"

"Really? Well, _I_ think she's too young for him. He'd be better off with someone older, like me."

Pearl gasped. "You're—you—you better not try to come between Mr. Nick and Mystic Maya!" she said.

Mia smiled. "Don't worry, Pearl. I won't try to make a move on Phoenix. Not as long as he's in my sister's body—that'd be kind of gross."

"Good," Pearl said. "Do you think they can get back to normal again?"

"I'm not sure," Mia said. "I haven't heard of anything like this happening before. Hopefully, all we need to do is have Maya try the ceremony again, and..."

Mia stopped suddenly. "Oh no."

"What?"

"Maya's not in her body anymore," Mia said. "She _can't_ try the ceremony again."

"She can't?"

"You know that only girls can perform the Kurain channeling technique," Mia said. "As long as Maya's in a boy's body, she can't do anything."

Pearl was sad to hear this news. "Then...what do we do?"

"I don't know, but I sure hope Phoenix knows advanced summoning techniques."

* * *

><p>As it turned out, Phoenix did <em>not<em> know advanced channeling techniques. Neither did Pearl. Mia was _somewhat_ good at channeling (she hadn't done it in years), but being half-ghost, she couldn't do any channeling at all.

"So what do we do?" Phoenix asked.

"Training!" Mia said. "I'll train you, and Maya will train Pearl. Hopefully one of you will learn what to do relatively quickly."

"Maya, how long did it take you to learn...whatever it is you did today?"

"About six months," Maya said.

"_Six months?_"

"It _was_ my final exam," Maya said. "Not just anybody can be Master of Kurain, you know."

"No no no!" Phoenix said, bouncing up and down. Being in Maya's body was like being on a permanent sugar rush. "I'm not going to be Maya for six months! I have to be in court tomorrow, remember? I'm defending Larry!"


	2. Larry's Trial

**Author's Note: **This chapter is kind-of told from the point of view of Edgeworth. As a result, Maya in Phoenix's body is called "Phoenix", while, Phoenix in Maya's body is called "Maya".

* * *

><p>The next day's trial was certainly an interesting one. As Miles Edgeworth wrote in his journal later that night, it was one of the oddest trials he had ever been involved with.<p>

"Is the Prosecution ready?" the Judge asked.

"The Prosecution has been ready for quite some time now," Edgeworth said, bowing politely.

"And is the defense ready?"

"OBJECTION!" Phoenix Wright shouted.

The Judge stopped and looked at the defense. "Mr. Wright? Do you object to something?"

"That's so cool! I've always wanted to do that!" Phoenix said.

His legal assistant, Maya Fey, tugged his sleeve. "Ma—_Nick!_ Knock it off!"

"Mr. Wright, I repeat. Do you have an objection? If I find you are wasting the court's time, you will be awarded a penalty."

"I...uh...I object to this tie!" Phoenix said. "Yeah! It's tight and makes it hard to breathe! I move that I be allowed to take my tie off!"

"Um...objection sustained," said the confused Judge.

"Yay!" Phoenix said, ripping off his tie and throwing it at his assistant. "Take that! I told you we didn't have to dress up all fancy!"

"It's not about being fancy!" Maya said. "It's about making a good impression!"

Edgeworth noted that Maya was dressed in a suit, and she looked surprisingly dignified in it. She had even changed her hairdo, and it looked a lot less ridiculous than normal.

"Your honor, might I suggest we break for a recess so the defense can, ahem, straighten out their issues?" Edgeworth asked.

"We can't take a break," the Judge said. "We haven't even _started_ the trial yet! Mr. Wright, are you ready?"

Phoenix Wright started doing a series of elaborate poses. "We're the Wright and Co. Law Offices, and like the Steel Samurai, we fight for great justice! Yeah!"

"The defense is ready, your Honor," Maya Fey said.

"Er...right...The case of the Charlene Simmons VS Larry Butz is now in session. Mr. Butz has been accused of breaking the terms of his restraining order—"

"_Objection!_" Phoenix Wright cried.

"Again?" the Judge asked.

"Don't object to everything!" Maya said. "Wait until the cross-examination!"

"No, don't worry, this is a good one! Your Honert, I object to the fact that Miles Edgeworth is the prosecuting attorney!"

"And why is that?"

"Because he's a meanie!"

"Objection denied."

"Objection!"

"What _now_, Mr. Wright?"

"I mean...I object to him being the prosecutor because...he's a close personal friend of the defendant!"

"Objection!" Edgeworth cried. "Wright, are you mad? You're a close personal friend of the defendant as well!"

"Oh, yeah...never mind, your Honert."

Maya Fey appeared to be crying. "It's 'honor', not 'honert'!" she told Phoenix.

The poor Judge was rather confused, and he tried to bring the trial back to normalcy. "Um...Prosecution, call the first witness," the Judge said.

"The Prosecution calls Larry Butz to the stand," Edgeworth said.

Larry went to the stand.

"Witness, you will state your name and profession to the court."

"My name's Larry Butz, and I'm currently employed as an artist."

"_Objec_—_Hey!_"

Phoenix Wright had started to make an objection, but his assistant had tackled him and put her hand over his mouth.

"Could you testify to the court about your relationship to Miss Simmons?"

"Sure! I met Charlene three months ago, and—"

Edgeworth paid close attention during the testimony, as Larry tended to be full of unwelcome surprises. Phoenix and his assistant were not paying attention to the testimony, it seemed. The two were busy arguing with each other in hushed whispers.

"Mr. Wright, you may begin your cross-examination," the Judge said.

"I'm the lawyer, and you're not!" Maya Fey said. "Trust me!"

"No way, my plan is foolproof!" Phoenix insisted. "Edgeworth will get kicked out as the prosecution, and we'll win!"

"Mr. Wright!" the Judge said, loudly.

"That's you!" Maya hissed.

"Huh? Oh, right! What is it, Your Hamburger?"

"I said, you may begin the cross-examination."

"Awesome!"

Larry began his testimony again. "I first—"

"Hold it!" Phoenix cried. "Larry, you know a lot of girls, right?"

"Huh? Well, uh, yeah, I guess..."

"And you get a lot of dates, right? I mean, I'd never go out with you, but a lot of girls would, right?"

Edgeworth frowned, wondering whether or not to object. Where was Wright going with this line of questioning?

"I'd like to think a lot of girls would date me, yes," Larry confirmed.

"So if someone wanted to know how to get a girlfriend, you'd be the first person he should come to, right?"

"Why are you asking, Nick?" Larry asked. "Do you need my help?"

"Give me a second," Phoenix said. He turned to his assistant. "Maya! Do I need dating advice?"

"No!"

"But you, I mean, I don't think I've been on a date in a while."

"My dating life is none of your business!"

"I'm trying to help you out, Nick. What if I asked Lana Skye to the movies? She's not much older than you, right? She could be an awesome girlfriend for you!"

"Don't interfere with my love life! If you do, I'll ask Gumshoe out on a date!"

"Ew, no! I don't want people to think I'd go out with him!"

The rest of the court was confused.

"...Mr. Edgeworth? Do you know what's going on?"

"...I have no idea, your Honor."

The Judge banged his gavel loudly. "Mr. Wright...the trial?"

"Oh, yeah! Sorry about that! Okay, so...Edgeworth! Is it true that you are currently dating Franziska von Karma?"

"What? No! I—Objection! My personal life is irrelevant to this case!"

"Objection! Answer the question!"

"Mr. Wright? Is this somehow relevant to the case?"

"Dude, my case totally hinges on this!" Phoenix said. "Just wait!"

"Don't call the Judge 'Dude'!" Maya told Phoenix.

"In that case, answer the question, Mr. Edgeworth."

"Well, no, I am not dating Miss von Karma," Edgeworth said, with as much dignity as he could muster. "And your point is...?

"Would you _like_ to?"

"I...I...I object to this line of questioning!"

"Ooo! He totally does! You owe me five bucks, Nick!"

"Mr. Wright!" the Judge said, sternly. "You and your legal assistant have been acting oddly during this whole trial. You said this line of questioning is important. Could you explain how Mr. Edgeworth's personal life is relevant to this case?"

Phoenix smiled confidently. "My point is that Edgeworth has a crush on Franziska, and he'd like to ask her out, but he's afraid of getting whipped! So he asked Larry Butz for some dating advice!"

Edgeworth paled. "That is ridiculous!"

Phoenix slammed his hands on his desk in his typical serious fashion. Then cried out in pain. "Ow! That hurts!"

Phoenix rubbed his hands and continued. "Therefore, I demand to have Mr. Edgeworth removed from this courtroom! He's too personally involved with the case to do his job properly! He probably made a deal with Larry to throw the trial!"

"Do you have any proof of this?" the Judge asked.

"Proof?" Phoenix asked. "What's that?"

"Something in the Court Record that shows that what you're saying is true."

Phoenix flipped through the Court Record quickly, but he didn't see anything there. He switched to the profiles and the presented a photo of Edgeworth.

"Take that!"

"What?" the Judge asked. "How does this prove what you're saying is true?"

"Look at Edgeworth! It's totally obvious he needs dating advice! See how pale he is? And what's up with his silly pink outfit?"

"Objection!" Edgeworth cried. "My clothes are not silly! And it's maroon, not pink!"

The Judge thought deeply for a moment.

"Objection denied. I agree that Mr. Edgeworth is not your typical person, but neither is Ms. von Karma, and therefore, she would most likely not be disgusted by his odd taste in clothing."

"Boo! You suck!" Phoenix said.

"WHAT?" the Judge shouted.

"I mean...huh...Objection!"

"Mr. Wright, if you continue to waste the court's time like this, I will hold you in contempt!"

"Please do so, your Honor!" Maya Fey begged. "Let _me_ take over for Phoenix! He's not feeling well today!"

"No, I've got it this time!" Phoenix said. "Edgeworth is taking dating advice from Larry...and so am I!"

The people watching the trial started murmuring amongst themselves.

"Order! Order!" the Judge said, banging his gavel. "What does that mean, Mr. Edgeworth?"

"The defense is clearly grasping at straws here, your Honor. May I suggest that they resume the cross-examination with a healthy-sized penalty for their ridiculous outbursts?"

"I'll tell you what it means, your Hamburger!" Phoenix cried, attempting to do a Manfred von Karma-style finger wag and accidentally poking Maya Fey in the eye. "It means both Edgeworth and I are unsuited to be the attorneys in this case! We have a contest of interest!"

"That's _conflict_ of interest," Maya Fey corrected.

"Whatever," Phoenix said. "Your Hamburger, I move that the trial end now!"

"Objection!" Edgeworth cried. "This is pure speculation, your Honor, and ridiculous besides! Don't listen to them, I beg of you!"

The Judge was thoughtful. "Well...if both the Prosecution and the Defense have a conflict of interest, it makes sense to reschedule the trial with different attorneys. Therefore, I declare the trial today closed."

Phoenix Wright started doing a victory dance.

"Oh yeah! Take that, Edgeworth! Trial is over today! I win, you lose! LOOOOOOSER!"

Maya Fey was crying again. "Stop dancing! You look like an idiot!"

* * *

><p>After the trial, Phoenix walked over to Edgeworth and shook his hand. "Good try today, Edgeworth, but you can't win them all!"<p>

"You have not won the case," Edgeworth said stiffly. "You merely got it delayed."

"But seriously, you should try asking Larry for some dating advice. I'm thinking a tan, and some hip new clothes. Ooo, and maybe you could dye your hair so you don't look so old! You could be so _hot!_ Franziska would totally go for you then!"

"_I'll thank you to leave my personal life alone!_" Edgeworth cried. He stomped away from the courthouse as quickly as possible.

"Don't worry! I'll help you out with her! I know what girls like because I'm a gir—"

"NICK!" Maya shouted.

Phoenix turned red. "Whoops. I forgot for a moment."

Larry clapped Phoenix on the shoulder. "Thanks, Nick! I thought I was going to get fined today or something!"

"You can thank us by buying us some celebratory hamburgers!" Phoenix said. "I don't know why, but somehow during that trial I whipped up a big craving for burgers."


	3. The Drunken Monkey

**Author's Note: **In this chapter, I go back to calling Phoenix in Maya's body "Phoenix", and Maya in Phoenix's body "Maya".

* * *

><p>Phoenix decided to spend the rest of the day away from Maya. It was probably the only way he could keep himself from yelling at her about the trial.<p>

Maya wandered off to a nearby florist shop. She bought a dozen roses and had them delivered to Franziska von Karma's office with the inscription, "Franziska, I think you're gorgeous. Edgeworth."

Phoenix's wallet didn't have any money, so she told the person at the store to charge it to Edgeworth's account.

Phoenix, meanwhile, went back to the Law Offices, where Mia was keeping watch over things.

"Hey, Maya—uh, Phoenix," Mia said. "How was court today?"

"It was basically the most embarrassing trial ever," Phoenix said. "Maya has no idea how to be a lawyer. Now everyone is going to think that I'm completely nuts."

"I'm sure it can't be all _that_ bad," Mia said.

"Not only did she call the Judge 'Dude' and 'Your Hamburger', but she turned the trial into a discussion of Miles Edgeworth's love life!"

"At least she didn't start talking about the Steel Samurai!" Mia joked.

"She did that, too. _And_ she did a victory dance when court was over."

"Oh..." Mia said.

She then wisely decided to change the subject.

"Are you...wearing my clothes?" she asked.

"Oh, yeah," Phoenix said, looking at his outfit. "Maya had two of your old suits in her closet for formal wear. They felt more comfortable than her acolyte robes."

"They look nice," Mia said. "I never thought I'd see Maya so dressed up!"

"They're great, but they're really loose around the...uh..."

Phoenix turned red as he realized what body part he was talking about. "You know...the front."

Mia grinned at Phoenix's shyness. "If you want, we can go bra shopping later today."

"Augh!" Phoenix exclaimed. "No—not—!"

"You'll have to get used to your new body parts sometime," Mia teased. "You could be stuck in Maya's body for a few months, after all."

"Not if I can help it," Phoenix resolved. "Let's start spiritual training right away!"

"Okay," Mia said. "Let's...um..."

Mia thought for a moment. She hadn't done any spiritual training in a few years.

"Let's start with basic meditation. Get into a comfortable position, and empty your mind. Try not to think about anything."

"What does not thinking have to do with spiritual training?" Phoenix asked.

"If you're not thinking, it's like you're escaping yourself. You know, like...an out-of-body experience."

Phoenix lifted an eyebrow at Mia. "I'm _already_ having an out-of-body experience."

"Don't be a smart aleck," Mia said. "Just empty your mind."

"Okay, okay," Phoenix said, closing his eyes and concentrating on nothing. "Got it. Now what?"

"Empty your mind."

"I said I got it. _Now_ what?"

"It takes longer than five seconds to empty your mind!"

"No, it doesn't."

"Yes it does! You have to think of absolutely nothing."

"I did that! _Now_ I'm thinking that you need to hurry up and tell me what you have to do next to channel spirits!"

"You're crabby when you get turned into a girl, you know that?"

"Well, _you're_ bossy when you're...um...dead and...wait. You're dead!"

"Thanks for noticing, Phoenix."

"But then, why are you here? I mean, you're not the Ghost Mia who helps me out in court sometimes, and you're not Channeled Mia. So you're..."

"Somewhere between the two?" Mia guessed. "This is unknown territory for me, too."

Phoenix sighed. When _Mia_ didn't know what was going on, you knew you were in a bad situation. "So...what exactly happened with you?"

"It's hard to explain. You know when you summon someone, they come into your body, right?"

Phoenix nodded.

"Well, Maya was trying to summon me, but not into her body. She wanted to summon me into a mirror."

"Why a mirror?"

"That way, someone could hold the mirror and look in it and see me, and I don't know, it was something she saw in a movie."

"Right..."

"So basically, that involves summoning me, but not summoning me at the same time."

"That makes absolutely no sense," Phoenix said.

Mia shrugged. "Hopefully, you'll learn more about it when you start summoning. In any case, when you opened the door, you offered another receptacle for the spirits. Maya's spirit bounced into your body, your spirit bounced into hers, and my spirit got thrown out to the side in this half-summoned form."

"Oh, wow," Phoenix said. "Sorry I've been too busy freaking out to pay attention to your situation."

"I understand," Mia said. "Now let's get back to spirit training. See if you can focus your power on your Magatama..."

* * *

><p>An hour later, Phoenix had made no progress whatsoever. When somebody knocked on the door and interrupted the training session, Phoenix was secretly glad for the excuse to stop.<p>

"That's probably Maya," Phoenix said to himself.

But it wasn't Maya. It was Pearl, and she was crying.

"Pearl!"

"Mr. Nick! Mystic Mia! May...Maya left me behind!"

"What? Pearl! What happened?"

Pearl hugged Phoenix and cried into his shoulder. "Maya was with Mr. Larry, and they went to this place where they don't allow kids, and I had to walk home all by myself, and it was scary!"

"Maya abandoned you?" Phoenix asked.

"I don't believe it! Why would Maya _do_ something like that?" Mia said.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out," Phoenix said. He pulled out Maya's cell phone and called his cell. Maya picked up on the third ring.

"Niiiiick! What's up, bro?"

"Who is it?"

"It's Nick!"

"But you're Nick! Duuuude!"

Phoenix clapped a hand to his forehead as he immediately understood what happened. "I think Larry and Maya are drunk," he told Mia.

"Oh no!" Mia said.

"It's cool!" Maya said. "Now that I'm you, I'm old enough to start drinking! Larry said I had to try some to celebrate, and I thought...woah! Check out that hot guy!"

"Guy? Dude, Niiick! That's gross!"

"No way! He's a total cutie! Look at thoshe arms!"

"Maya, you have to come back to the office right away," Phoenix ordered.

"Maya? You're Maya. I hear Maya! Hee hee hee..."

"Okay, you and Larry stay where you are. Mia and I will come pick you up. Okay?"

"O K M N!" Maya said.

Phoenix hung up. "I don't think they can come home on their own," he said. "We'll have to go get them."

"_Oh_, Maya is going to be in _so_ much trouble now..." Mia growled. "I can't _believe_ she'd abandon Pearl to go drinking!"

By this time, Pearl was feeling better, although she was still sniffing a little.

"Pearly?" Phoenix asked. "Do you remember where Maya and Larry are?"

Pearl nodded. "But I don't want to go back! It was dark and scary!"

"We'll be here to protect you," Mia said.

"Yeah, we're just going to get Maya and take her back home," Phoenix said. "You can be a brave girl and help us, right?"

"Okay," Pearl agreed. "But I still won't like it!"

* * *

><p>"<em>The Drunken Monkey<em>," Phoenix said, reading the sign on the building. "Larry always did have great taste."

"The music there was _horrible_," Pearl said. "It made my ears _and_ my head hurt."

_Poor Pearly..._ Phoenix thought to himself. _Maya's got a lot to answer for..._

"You two are both underage, so I'll go get them," Mia said. "Just wait here for a few minutes."

"Okay," Phoenix agreed.

Phoenix and Pearl waited together for a while.

"So...how do you like being a girl?" Pearl asked. "It's really cool, right?"

"Um, sure, I guess," Phoenix said. "It's kind of weird, having to get used to Maya's body."

"Because you're short now?"

"Exactly. That and...other things."

"Well, it's good that you're smart now!" Pearl said.

"Smart?"

"Everyone knows girls are smarter than boys," Pearl said. "Maybe that's why Mystic Maya was so mean to me. Now that she's a boy, she's stupid."

Phoenix blinked. He had forgotten that Pearl grew up in a matriarchal society. "But...you never thought _I_ was stupid, did you?"

"No! I mean...you're one of the smart boys. But sometimes you still do stupid things."

"Like what?"

"Like say you're not in love with Maya!"

"Oh. Right..."

The door to the bar opened, and Mia came outside with the drunk Maya. She looked like she was about to throw up.

"It's hard to love her sometimes..." Phoenix commented.


	4. A Visit from Edgeworth

"I am _never_ listening to Larry again," Maya decided. "Never ever ever. He said that would be fun!"

"Having fun with Larry never turns out well," Phoenix said.

"You made me so scared!" Pearl said. "You're going to be grounded for a long time!"

"I'm sorry, Pearl," Maya said. "And I'm sorry, Nick. I shouldn't be acting like an idiot just because I'm in your body. I should be helping you get us back to normal."

"Mia helped train me for an hour," Phoenix said.

"And?"

"Nothing happened," Phoenix admitted. "I'm no good at spirit channeling."

"That's just because you've never done it before," Maya said. "I can teach you!"

Two hours later, however, it became apparent that, in fact, Maya could _not_ teach Phoenix anything, not even the simplest things like channeling his power.

"It's no use," Phoenix said. "I can't do it. I give up!"

"This is bad," Mia said.

"I think it's because boys can't do spirit channeling," Pearl said.

"But he's in _my_ body," Maya said. "He _should_ be able to do it!"

"Why _can't_ men do the Kurain Channeling Technique, by the way?" Phoenix asked.

"Because they have cooties!" Pearl said.

Mia shrugged. "It has something to do with what we call spiritual power. Some people are born with no spiritual power, and some people are born with a lot. Like...Pearl. She has a lot of spiritual power, which is why she's so good at channeling."

Maya nodded. "I don't have as much spiritual power as Pearl, so I had to train hard to increase it."

"And men are always born with no spiritual power, right?" Phoenix guessed.

"Right. There are exceptions, but no man has ever gone past the first grade of spirit medium school."

"So, basically, I have no chance of being able to do this."

"Don't give up yet," Maya said. "I'm sure there are other options."

"Yeah, I could wait ten years for Pearl to learn how to do it!"

"I'm sorry, Mystic Maya," Pearl said. "I haven't finished my training yet..."

"I'm not Maya! I'm Phoenix!" Phoenix said.

Pearl gasped. "Sorry! It's hard knowing who is who!"

"Maybe you could wear name tags," Mia suggested.

"Wait. I have an idea. Can't we get one of the other spirit mediums in Kurain to perform the ceremony?" Phoenix asked.

"_NO!_" Maya shouted. "If one of the elders found out there was a mistake with my final exam, I won't become the Kurain Master! They're probably suspicious enough as it is! I mean, I already lied to them and said making Mia corporeal _was_ my final project!"

"Okay, okay, it was just a suggestion," Phoenix said, secretly wondering when Maya learned the word "corporeal". "What if we—?"

Just then, there was a loud slamming noise at the door. An angry voice shouted, "Wright! I demand to have a word with you and your assistant!"

"That sounds like Edgeworth," Phoenix said. "What'd you do _now_, Maya?"

"Why do you think it's always _me?_" Maya huffed.

"Because it _is_ always you!"

"Yeah, well, now that I'm you, it's _you!_"

"That doesn't make any sense!"

"It doesn't have to! Now that I'm you, _you_ said it!"

"Now that you're me, _I'm_ not making sense!"

Mia rolled her eyes and answered the door herself. "Is something wrong, Mr. Edgeworth?"

"Yes," Edgeworth said. He stepped in the office. "I have to speak with Miss Fey."

"What is it?" Pearl asked.

"Not you, the other Miss Fey," Edgeworth clarified.

"What do you want to talk about?" Mia asked.

"Not _you_, the _other_..." Edgeworth clapped a hand to his forehead. "I meant _Maya_ Fey."

"_Oh..._" Pearl and Mia said.

"Um...what about?" Phoenix asked, trying to sound innocent.

"You know full well what about," Edgeworth scowled.

Edgeworth leaned close to Maya's body. Uncomfortably close. Phoenix could feel his heart beating more quickly, and all the blood rushed to his head, as he couldn't help but notice how nice Edgeworth's aftershave smelt.

_What's going on? Having Edgeworth this close to me...I feel like a hormonal teenager..._

_Wait...Maya's body..._

"Oh man, I _am_ a teenager again!" Phoenix complained. "This stinks!"

"What?" Edgeworth asked.

"Get away from me, Edgeworth!" Phoenix said, pushing Edgeworth back. "You're making my hormones go all wacky."

Edgeworth started. "Your..._hormones?_"

"My sister's not feeling too well today," Mia said. "May I ask what it is you're accusing her of doing?"

"Yes," Edgeworth said, closing his eyes and trying to regain some composure. "Well, someone ordered a dozen roses for Franziska von Karma today and charged them to my account. Now I had to ask myself, which legal team got the Simmons VS Butz Trial thrown out of court on the grounds that I harbor affections for Miss von Karma?"

"We did," Maya said.

"And which member of the legal team is foolish enough to spend other people's money without permission?"

"You said 'foolish', Mr. Edgeworth! Just like Franziska always does! Aw, see? You _are_ a great couple!"

"Franziska and I are not a couple!" Edgeworth shouted. "I came here to tell _you_ to leave us _alone!_ Or else we'll both sue you!"

"Waugh!" Phoenix said. Edgeworth _and_ Franziska suing him? "I'm sorry, Mr. Edgeworth. I'll never do anything like that again!"

"I'm not apologizing," Maya said. "You two belong together."

"May—uh..._my_ goodness! Shouldn't we do what he asks, Nick?"

"Not when he's wrong," Maya said, crossing her arms in a serious fashion.

Edgeworth eyed the two of them strangely. "You two are acting very oddly today..."

Phoenix heart leapt in his chest. _He looked at me! He loves—no!_

"I don't know what goes on in this office, but I would prefer it if you left me out of it," Edgeworth said. "Good day."

"Goodbye, Mr. Eggy-worth!" Pearl said.

"Bye, Milesy!" Maya said.

"Best of luck," Mia said.

"Please don't sue me," Phoenix said.

Edgeworth squinted at Mia. "Aren't you dead?" he asked.

"Yes," she answered.

"My condolences," Edgeworth said. He coughed discreetly and left the offices.

"Maya!" Phoenix said. "You bought _roses _for him?"

"If he's not going to admit he loves Franziska, then I have to do it for him," Maya said. "They belong together."

_She's really adamant about this. Now I know where Pearl gets it from..._ Phoenix thought.

"Don't do anything stupid like that again without asking me first, okay?" asked Phoenix.

"No!" Maya said. "Now _I'm_ the boss, and _you're_ the assistant! I get to do whatever I want!"

Phoenix grumbled, then thought of something. "Hey, when were you going to tell me you have a thing for Edgeworth?"

Pearl gasped. "Mystic Maya likes Mr. Eggy-worth?"

"I do not!" Maya denied.

"Don't lie. When he was in here, your body was pumping more hormones than a steroid factory," Phoenix said.

Maya turned red. "Well, I...he...uh..."

"He what?"

"Okay, so I think he's kind of hot! So what? Every other girl feels the exact same way! Ema Skye, Angel Starr, even Wendy Oldbag!"

"But he's pale and ugly and a jerk!"

"I don't _like_ him," Maya said ("Good!" Pearl said to herself), "but he's still pretty hot."

"Why is it that every girl thinks _Edgeworth_ is better-looking than I am?" Phoenix muttered to himself. He was still angry at Edgeworth for stealing his date to the Prosecutors Ball the month before (which is a story for another day, I'm afraid).

Phoenix opened his desk and took out a handful of candies that he kept hidden there for occasions like these. Popping them all into his mouth at once, he tried to think of some way to get himself out of Maya's body and back to his spiky-haired self.

* * *

><p>Fifteen minutes later, Phoenix was running around the office like a maniac.<p>

"Come on, let's go outside! Come on, let's run a marathon! Come on, let's do _something!" _he screamed.

"I think Nick had some candy," Maya said.

"Gee, what gave you _that_ idea?" Mia asked sarcastically.

"We should have warned him that I get really bad sugar highs," Maya said.

Phoenix decided to do 1,000 jumping jacks in a row, but he lost count after #387, so he had to start over.

"There's only one thing to do," Maya said. "Watch _The Steel Samurai!_"

"YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!" Phoenix screamed. "TV TV TV TV TV!"

Maya turned on the TV and started an episode of _The Steel Samurai_. It was hard to hear the episode over the enthusiastic cheering of Maya and Sugar-Crazed Phoenix.

"Mystic Maya acts weird sometimes," Pearl noted.

"Oh, she acted like this _all_ the time when we were growing up," Mia said.

"Mystic Mia, do you think we'll ever be able to get them back to their own bodies?"

"I'm sure we can," Mia said. "If we can get them to switch once, we can get them to switch again."

"But Mr. Nick doesn't have any spiritual power," Pearl said, looking sad. "And I'm not good enough to do something hard like that yet..."

"Don't feel bad," Mia said. "Even _I'm_ not good enough to try something like this. Not just anyone can be the Kurain Master, you know."

Pearl looked thoughtful. "I...I might have an idea, Mystic Mia."

"What is it?" Mia asked kindly.

"I didn't want to say it earlier," Pearl said. "But do you think my mom could do it?"

"Your mom?"

"She's really good at channeling!" Pearl said enthusiastically. "And she was the Kurain Master for a long time! I was going to ask Mystic Maya about it, but she doesn't like it when I talk about my mom. That's why I thought I should ask you first."

Mia thought about it. "Aunt Morgan _might_ be able to help us with this...but..."

"But what?"

_But there's no way she'd ever help Maya become the Kurain Master_, Mia thought.

"But...she's probably too, um, busy to help us," Mia lied. "We'd have to ask someone else."

"But...we don't know any other powerful spirit mediums," Pearl said.

"_You_ don't," Mia said, suddenly getting an idea. "But _I_ do. Why don't we ask _my_ mother, Mystic Misty?"

"Mystic Misty?"

"She was the Kurain Master before your mother took over."

"So she's really powerful?"

"Definitely," Mia said. "And she was the Master for a long time, so she has more experience than any of us do. Do you think you can summon her?"

Pearl nodded. "Do you have a picture of her to help me?"

"Maya?" Mia called. "Do you have a picture of Mom anywhere here in the office? Maya?"

Maya wasn't paying attention. She and Phoenix were trying to do the Steel Samurai fighting moves along with the show, but mostly, they fell over a lot and giggled like crazy.

"Awww," Pearl said. "They're having a special someone moment!"

_"They're not special someones!"_ Mia snapped, a bit more harshly than she intended. Mia wouldn't admit it publicly, but she had been thinking of asking Phoenix out on a date shortly before she died.

"Yes, they are!" Pearl insisted.

"Whatever," Mia said. "Maya! Do you have a picture of Mom? Yes or no?"

"Your MOM!" Phoenix said. Then he devolved into giggles.

"Oh, boy," Mia said. "Maybe we'll just have to find a picture of her on the Internet. It shouldn't be too hard to find."


	5. The End

They did find a picture of Misty Fey on the Internet, who Pearl recognized as Elise Deauxnim. Since Pearl had spoken with Ms. Deauxnim, that made the summoning easier than normal.

Pearl had an easy time with the summoning; Mia had a much harder time. Seeing her mother after so long was...well, it was difficult under any circumstances.

"Hi, um...Mom," Mia said. "Long time no see."

"Mia..." Misty said. "I'm so sorry."

Mia closed her eyes. "I was twelve when you left. That'd be...eighteen years, now?"

"I'm sorry," Misty said. "I didn't want to go, but I had to."

"No, you didn't," Mia said. "You could have stayed instead of running away."

"I didn't run away," Misty said. "It's...it was complicated. When I left, I only planned on being gone for a month. Just until all the bad press blew over. But your Aunt Morgan cut a deal with Redd White—"

"I don't _care_ what Aunt Morgan did!" Mia said. "You shouldn't have abandoned your children!"

"I know," Misty said. "I'm sorry. I never would have left if I had known it would be permanent. You have to believe me."

Mia frowned. "Well...I guess it doesn't matter, now that we're both dead," she said. "Besides, we've got a bigger problem to worry about."

"What?" Misty asked.

"Maya sort of...messed up her final test as the Kurain Master," Mia said. "Now she's switched genders."

"WHAAAAT?" Misty shouted.

* * *

><p>When Mia returned to the main office with Misty Fey, there was a surprise visitor there.<p>

"Maya, Baby, I love you!" Larry Butz said, trying to kiss Phoenix in Maya's body. "Kiss me!"

"Get away!" Phoenix said, shoving Larry away from him.

"Your new outfit is so _HOT!_" Larry said. "You should wear that suitcoat more often! I love classy girls!"

Maya, in Phoenix's body, was laughing herself sick at the scene. She knew Larry could get a little flirty at times, but the sight of Phoenix's new outfit had driven Larry over the edge. Either that, or Larry had too much to drink at the Drunken Monkey that day.

"No classy girl would date a slob like you!" Phoenix said. "Stop harassing me!"

"Come on, Maya! You _know_ you want me!" Larry said. "You want to feel my lips on yours! Your passion and beauty must be shared!"

Phoenix had to resort to saying something—_anything_—that would cause Larry to lose interest in kissing Maya. "Larry, you can't kiss me!" Phoenix said. "I'm not really a girl!"

"You...WHAAAAAT?" Larry shouted.

"I was born male," Phoenix said. "I became 100% female only yesterday."

"It's true!" Maya said. She was amused that Phoenix was, in fact, telling the truth.

"You...you're not really a girl?" Larry asked, horrified. "But I've been fantasizing about you...for years...when you were a DUDE?"

Phoenix nodded.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Larry moaned. His face was turning pale.

"Either way, there's no chance of anything happening between the two of us," Phoenix said, with a sigh of relief. "You should leave before—"

Larry threw up, all over Phoenix.

"Ugh!" Phoenix yelled. "LARRY!"

* * *

><p>Larry left soon after that. Phoenix made sure to lock the door behind him.<p>

"Do you _always_ let your drunk friends hang around the office?" Mia asked Phoenix.

"I have no idea why he was here. Nobody invited him," Phoenix said, examining his messy clothes. "Ugh, now I'm going to have to take a shower."

"That's against the rules, Nick," Maya said.

"You two made _rules?_" Mia asked.

"Rule #1 is 'No looking at each other's private body parts'," Maya said. "...Actually, I think that's the only rule we made."

"That seems like a good rule," Misty Fey said.

"Mia, you—MOM?" Maya yelled.

"Miss Deauxnim," Phoenix said, nodding slightly. He was less than enthusiastic to see the woman whose murder case had almost killed him and everyone he cared about.

"Mom!" Maya said, hugging her mother. "I missed you so much! I mean, I don't remember you at all, but I missed you!"

"This is not quite the family reunion I had in mind," Misty Fey said, looking at the spikey-haired person with his arms wrapped around her.

"It's a great family reunion!" Maya said. "I mean, sure, I'm a guy, and Mia's a ghost, and you're sort of dead, but...yeah, you're right. It's kind of weird."

"Everything about this is weird," Phoenix said.

"Please tell me you know how to get us back to normal," Maya said. "I _hate_ being a guy! I mean, it was cool for a while, and I really like Nick, but I don't want to _be _him. He's old!"

"Well, _I_ don't want to be a teenager again," Phoenix said. "Being a teenager was awkward enough the first time around, thank you very much. I don't need to go through it again, as a girl."

Misty Fey nodded. "Mia told me what's happening," she said. "It's rather unusual, but I think I can help."

"How?" Phoenix asked.

"As I see it, there are two problems here," Misty Fey said. "One, the two of you have switched bodies. Two, Mia is stuck as a partially-summoned corporeal spirit."

"And we can't do anything about either problem, because Nick has no spiritual powers," Maya said.

"True, but not true," Misty said. "If Phoenix is in your body, he should be able to access your spiritual powers. Why can't he?"

"Because he's a boy?" Maya asked.

"Because he doesn't know how to?" Mia asked.

"No, no, no," Misty said. "It's because he's already channeling someone."

"WHAT?" Mia and Maya shouted.

"Remember the basic rules of spirit channeling," Misty Fey said. "It's impossible to channel two different spirits at once. Since Mia here is still being channeled—in a sense—Maya's body can't do any more channeling. That's why Phoenix is being blocked from accessing his body's spiritual power."

"So...you're saying we need to un-channel Mia, so I can use Maya's spiritual powers?" Phoenix asked. "How do we do that?"

"I know!" Maya said. "We just have to use the Spirit Severing Technique on my body!"

"Isn't that the one that involves hitting someone over the head with—?" Phoenix began to ask. He didn't get to finish his sentence, because Maya snuck up behind him and hit him with a fire extinguisher.

"Maya!" Mia screamed.

Maya grinned. "I've always secretly wanted to hit my boss, ever since I got my first job," she said. "Of course, once I get back to my body, I'm probably going to have a headache..."

"Maya, the Spirit Severing Technique only works with the spirit severing stick, or another item that's similarly charged with spiritual energy," Misty Fey said. "In other words, not fire extinguishers."

"Oh, yeah," Maya said. "Whoops."

Mia poked the unconscious Phoenix. "Phoenix? Phoenix?" she asked.

Phoenix's eyes opened slowly. "Whuh...who are you?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah...I forgot that Nick gets amnesia when you hit him with a fire extinguisher," Maya said.

"Fire extinguisher?" Phoenix said, sitting up. "What does a—ow, my head! Where am I? Who am I?"

The three women traded worried looks.

"You're Maya Fey," Maya lied.

* * *

><p>Three hours later, our heroes were on a train headed to Kurain. Phoenix had said that his head hurt, so he was taking a nap in his seat. The three Fey women were seated next to him, and they were talking quietly.<p>

"I don't understand," Pearl said, tapping her lip with her finger.

"It's simple," Maya explained. "Nick doesn't remember who he is right now."

"Why not?" Pearl asked.

"Because Maya hit—" Mia began to say.

"That's not important!" Maya interrupted. "The important thing is that Nick's memory is gone! He doesn't remember being Phoenix Wright at all!"

"That's horrible!" Pearl said, gasping. "But why do I have to stop calling him 'Mr. Nick'?"

"Because I told him that he's Maya Fey," Maya explained. "And since he can't remember _not_ being in my body, he believed me."

"I don't understand..." Pearl said, hanging her head.

"It's simple," Mia said. "Maya tricked Phoenix into thinking that he's Maya."

"It's like the best prank ever!" Maya said.

"That's not right!" Pearl said. "You shouldn't lie to your special someone!"

"It'll make everything simpler," Maya said. "If he thinks he's me, then he'll help us out for sure! And he won't do anything inappropriate with my body..."

"Is _that_ what this is all about?" Mia asked.

"No!" Maya said hotly.

If any of the girls had been looking at Phoenix, they would have noticed him sigh softly. For you see, Phoenix Wright was not really asleep at the moment. He was just pretending to be asleep so he could overhear his friends' conversation.

Phoenix's case of amnesia had cleared up after five minutes, once his brains had a chance to get themselves back in order. By then, Maya had already tried to convince him that he was a girl. It was easier just to go along with Maya's weird scheme.

Besides, pretending that he was Maya _did_ have some advantages...

Phoenix yawned.

"Shhh, he's waking up!" Maya said.

Phoenix yawned again and opened his eyes. "Are we there yet?" he asked sleepily.

"Not yet, Maya," Maya said.

"But I wanna be back home!" Phoenix said. "I'm, like, the Master of Kurain! I should be there, and, like, do Mastery stuff!"

"We'll be there in an hour," Mia said.

"I want burgers!" Phoenix whined. "But I don't want to _pay_ for them, because I never pay for my food! Buy me something, Nick!"

_Do I really sound like that normally?_ Maya wondered.

* * *

><p>A stern-looking woman intercepted our heroes at the front of Fey Manor.<p>

"I've been waiting for you, Mystic Maya," the woman said. "You complete your final exam, then you leave Kurain before we can—"

"Whatever," Phoenix said, flashing a "whatever" sign with his hand. "There was a super-important episode of _The Steel Samurai_ I had to watch!"

"...The children's TV show?" the woman asked.

"Mystic Maya isn't feeling well," Maya tried to explain. "Please, just ignore her."

"Plus, I needed to buy new clothes," Phoenix said. "Like a push-up bra."

Pearl looked confused. "What's a pu—?" she began to ask.

"We have to get to the channeling room, right away!" Maya cried. "It's an emergency!"

* * *

><p>Maya and Mia practically dragged Phoenix to the channeling room, while Pearl stayed behind and distracted the angry villager. Putting Pearl on diversion duty was probably the safest course of action, because the last thing they needed was an extra person in the Channeling Chamber. That was what caused the problem in the first place.<p>

"Okay, we're here," Phoenix said. "What now? You still haven't explained to me what you're doing!"

Mia locked the door from the inside. "It'll make sense in a few minutes," she said. "We have an important channeling job to do first."

"This should be simple," Maya said. "Kind of. Where's the spirit severing stick?"

"I'll get it," Mia volunteered. She went to the corner of the room where the spirit severing stick was kept, along with some other items.

Phoenix eyed Mia warily. "She's not gonna hit me, is she?" he asked. "My head already hurts."

"Forget that," Maya said. "For now, you need to concentrate on me. Concentrate on Phoenix Wright."

Phoenix squinted his eyes. Earlier, Mia tried to teach him some simple focusing techniques. It didn't work then, and it wasn't working now.

"Uh...I can't concentrate," he said. "Not when Mia is going to smash me in the head."

Maya looked upset. "You're too tense," she said. "Loosen up, and only think about Phoenix Wright. That will help your spiritual journey."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Phoenix confessed.

Maya looked slightly guilty. "Well, you won't remember this, so..."

Maya grabbed Phoenix's head and kissed him briefly. "I love you," she said.

"Wha—what?" Phoenix asked. He...Maya...kissed him? When they had switched bodies? Was that the same as kissing himself?

That was when Mia smashed the distracted Phoenix on the head with the Spirit Summoning Stick.

The room became filled with purple light, as a few things happened. Mia shimmered and disappeared, as her connection to the world was severed. Maya's spirit, no longer blocked from her body, tried to jump back to its rightful place. It hit against Phoenix's spirit, which was vaguely focused on one thing: being Phoenix Wright.

The spiritual tug-of-war went back and forth, like a game of Pong, until Maya's spirit won out. She was more skilled in spiritual summoning, so it was inevitable that she would win out. Maya's spirit re-entered her body, and Phoenix's spirit was cast out until it found its rightful place.

Maya blinked. "Did...did it work?" she asked.

"Mommy?" Phoenix asked.

Then he collapsed.

* * *

><p>When Phoenix woke up, he was lying in bed.<p>

"Hello?" Phoenix asked.

"He's awake!" a voice said. "Finally!"

"Mister Nick?" a younger young voice asked. "Are you okay?"

Phoenix tried sitting up, but his head hurt too much. "Maya? Pearl? Is that you?"

"Duh!" Maya said. "Who did you expect, my dead sister?"

"I just had the craziest dream," Phoenix said. "We switched bodies, and...it was strange."

"You've been unconscious for two days," Maya said. "We've been worried sick about you!"

"Two days?" Phoenix asked.

Maya nodded. "For a while, I was worried...you would _never_ wake up."

"Mystic Maya didn't give up on you!" Pearl said. "She's your special someone!"

"It was really dumb of you to interrupt my final exam, Nick," Maya said. "Why did you do that?"

"Final...exam?" Phoenix asked.

"I think he needs more sleep," Maya said. "Then maybe some food."

Phoenix chuckled and hugged his body. He couldn't help himself.

"I'm okay!" he said. "I'm better than I've been for the past few days! I'm _me_ again! It was all just a weird dream!"

"That's not the only weird thing here," Maya muttered.

"Be nice to your special someone!" Pearl ordered.

* * *

><p><em>One Week Later...<em>

Phoenix was back in his office, checking his email instead of working. He was glad that things were finally getting back to normal, after the misadventures in Kurain.

According to Maya, Phoenix had interrupted her summoning ceremony. This caused him to become unconscious for two days. Apparently, the entire ordeal of switching bodies with Maya was a very vivid hallucination or a dream. Phoenix wasn't sure which, and he didn't care to find out, either.

All he cared was that things were finally back to normal. He was in his own body again, no longer a hyperactive teenager.

Phoenix's cell phone rang, and he answered on the second ring.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Hi, Phoenix," the voice said. "It's Lana."

"Lana...Lana Skye?" Phoenix asked. "How did you get my phone number?"

"You gave it to me," she said.

"I did?" he asked.

"When you asked me to the movies," she said. "I've reconsidered. Is it too late to go with you?"

"I...what?" Phoenix asked.

Suddenly, Phoenix remembered a trial from the previous week.

* * *

><p><em>"Give me a second," Phoenix said. He turned to his assistant. "Maya! Do I need dating advice?"<em>

_"No!"_

_"But you, I mean, I don't think I've been on a date in a while."_

_"My dating life is none of your business!"_

_"I'm trying to help you out, Nick. What if I asked Lana Skye to the movies? She's not much older than you, right? She could be an awesome girlfriend for you!"_

_"Don't interfere with my love life! If you do, I'll ask Gumshoe out on a date!"_

* * *

><p><em>But that was just my dream,<em> Phoenix thought. _Unless...we really did switch bodies..._

"MAYAAAAAAAA!"Phoenix shouted.

**The end**


End file.
